15 MH Four Stroke's value?

I'm looking to buy a 98 Mercury 15 hp four stroke tiller, manual start (15 MH) short shaft in what I would consider excellent condition for what I thought was a reasonable price until I went to the NADA Pricing Guides where I find this motors "average retail" to be about half of the sellers asking price. My experience as a prospective buyer with boat motor sales and classified ads leads me to believe this sellers price isn't outrageous but then in comparison to the NADA I'm not so sure.

Is there another source for pricing estimates on boat motors that I can check that might be closer to current market values that I can use? I suppose the 'worth of anything is in the eyes of the beholder' but I would prefer not to be 'ripped off' due to my lack of experience. Any advice here? Thanks.

NADA is a good source for looking up prices, but I would caution that the prices they post may be more skewed to what a "reseller" would pay as opposed to a consumer.

If I was a "marine dealer" I would need to make some money on a used sale, plus I have to assume that I may need to do some maintenance before the motor would be ready to sell.

So to give you an example, I "know" that a mid/late 1990's 9.9 two stroke Merc, "in my area" (and the location is important when figuring price) will sell for about a grand.

Now if I am going to buy one to resell I may want to make $200 "profit". I also have to assume that it will need waterpump service, a couple new spark plugs, maybe a carb kit etc before it's up to the standard that I need it to be to resell. So if I estimate that I may need $200 worth of parts/service, plus the $200 I want to make, that "thousand dollar motor" is worth not a penny more than $600 "to me". And if there are other potential issues (chipped prop etc), that price "that I will pay" drops further.

And that's why NADA gives a range - almost no work required to use = higher price etc.

Now, you are talking about a 4 stroke here. Maintenance over it's lifetime (and this one is "almost" 17 model years old) is far more important than it was on older 2 strokes.

Regardless of what you determine to be a "fair price" I absolutely would require that it be "checked" by a certified Merc Tech as a condition of the sale. You don't want to buy a can of worms - regardless of "how pretty" it looks on the outside, the cost of servicing a 4 stroke can quickly add up to the cost of a new motor if there is a significant internal problem.

If all checks out I personally see the value of a used outboard, in the portable class, to be somewhere in the 50 to 70% range of the cost of the same thing "brand new".

So if you can get a brand new 15 horse, with similar options, for say $2200 then I would be looking to spend perhaps "no more than" $1400'ish if it checked out "perfectly" and needed "nothing" to use it tomorrow. Any potential "rehab" costs would get deducted from that price until the price was viable. And if you can't do the work yourself you have to factor that you may pay upwards of $100/hour, plus parts, to get it "ready to go" (which is why a tech check is absolutely required, complete with estimate).

If you have not heard it run it is a parts motor.

I do get what you are saying Grahm however getting a knowledgeable "professional" tech to check out this motor BEFORE next season rolls around in my area is like pulling hens teeth. Good luck there! Then there's the rush to sell factor of the seller combined with the 'I want it now' (lol) factor of the buyer that makes buying such a conundrum if your planning on being the "lucky" buyer. What to do, what to do? Seems it leaves no option but to make your best effort to check it out on your own. This owner has suggested I put it on my boat and run it on the water if I would like before buying. (gives me some consolence) I will definitely require to hear it run and check the compression before solidifying any sale but a tech's estimate is probably out of the realm of reality. The asking price is right at the 50% of a "New at that time" model year, so I guess the asking price is "reasonable" if all checks out.